In recent years an abundance of single-serve hot beverage brewing machines have been marketed to home and business beverage consumers as a quick and convenient manner of brewing a selected beverage material. Most commonly, such machines dispense coffee, tea, cocoa or soup by dispensing hot water through the beverage pod, where the pods are configured with the desired beverage material. The user will select the desired beverage material by way of a filled and lidded beverage pod, and insert the pod into a cavity configured within the brewer. In some configurations, upon closure of the pod in the brewer, the beverage machine will pierce the beverage pod with one or more needles and hot water will be introduced into the pod under pressure to contact the beverage material. For a pod having a filter exposed, such as the Rogers OneCup™ pod, the pod will be short enough to avoid piercing by the lower needle. Once secured in the beverage pod cavity, pressurized hot water will permeate the beverage material in the beverage pod to fluidize some or all of the beverage material so as to generate the desired hot beverage for dispensing to the user. The used beverage pod will then be discarded, and the machine will be ready for further use with the same or a different type of beverage material. With such devices, users can customize their beverages and also enjoy a freshly brewed beverage quickly and easily.
Multi chamber beverage pods, and analogs thereto, such as drip coffee pods, can have a first chamber defined by a filter (typically a paper filter) that is loosely packed with ingredients (such as ground coffee) and a second chamber downstream of the first chamber that defines an empty space for receiving a prepared beverage that flows through the filter prior to dispensing into a cup or other beverage receptacle. One example of a multi chamber beverage pod is the Keurig K-Cup® pod. This pod includes a paper filter having a side wall that is sealed to an inside peripheral edge of the pod. The side wall of the filter is pleated or fluted to define channels extending between the top and bottom of the filter. Multi-chamber beverage pods are generally configured to provide for long-term freshness of the ingredients contained therein. To facilitate this, such pods can be treated to remove air therefrom, such as by application of a vacuum or by nitrogen purging. In recent years, alternatives to the multi-chamber pods have also been introduced. Such “generic” K-beverage pods can comprise pods that have a filter as part or all of the beverage pod or portion, along with a polymeric or foil lid adhered thereto. These non-airtight pods will not maintain the freshness of the contents therein. As such, these pods will be supplied in airtight packaging or will bear shorter “use by” date.
Some beverage pods, such as espresso pods, have a single chamber defined by a plastic or aluminum body having a foil cover at one end. The chamber is densely packed with ingredients, such as finely ground coffee for producing beverages in a high pressure beverage preparing machine. One example of this configuration is the beverage pods that are sold under the Nespresso® brand name. For this type of device, the granular, or powdered, beverage material in the pod is generally partially soluble upon contact with hot water to generate the desired hot beverage. Upon insertion of the pod into the brewing machine pod cavity, which is in contact with the outer surface of the beverage pod, and application of hot water thereto, the pressure will increase in the chamber. As the pressure within the chamber increases, the foil cover is forced against raised projections in the machine's pod cavity to the point that the projections penetrate the cover to allow water to flow through the cover into the chamber and exit in the form of liquefied beverage material for use. Very small holes are generated in the bottom of the pod by the brewing machine. When wetted, the beverage material becomes tightly packed, thus substantially prevents the beverage material from exiting the chamber along with the liquid beverage. Thus, no filter is generally included in such pods. One example of a single chamber beverage pod is the Nespresso® Grands Crus pod. This pod has an aluminum body with a foil cover. The foil cover is pierced by square protrusions in the beverage pod cavity when hot water is injected under pressure by the beverage preparing machine into the chamber. Recently, “generic” espresso pods have become available. Such newer pods can be comprised of a polymeric beverage pod or container portion with a foil containing lid portion.
While the proliferation of generic beverage pods has increased the variety of beverage materials available, many consumers have special preferences in their hot beverage selections. Moreover, some consumers find the cost of retail beverage pods prohibitive, even though generic pods are generally at least 25% less expensive. While reusable products in which where the consumer fills the pod with her beverage material are available, such as the My K-Cup® pod product, these products are time consuming to prepare for use and can be messy. Moreover, the quality of the beverages prepared in these reusable products can be inconsistent.
There remains a need for systems and methods to allow a consumer to generate beverage pods for use in single serve beverage makers, where such pods can be customized with a desired type and amount of beverage material. The present disclosure provides this and other benefits.